Various types of simulated games using an aerial projectile, popular with children and adults alike, are known in the art. The projectile is usually propelled by a simple catapult or a spring launcher, which sometimes replace a simulated ballplayer figure at the time of shooting the projectile toward a goal. Neither the launchers nor their substitution for a player figure at a critical point in the game simulate the reality very convincingly. While figures used in simulated games using a surface projectile often mimic the live action fairly well, figures devised for games using an aerial projectile, such as basketball, were so far much less successful.
Many simulated game inventions propose a catapult or a launcher: U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,242 (Rudell et al., 1998) shows a TWO SIDED BASKETBALL GAME with two simple launchers. U.S. Pat. No. 2,878,801 to Patchin et al. (1959) discloses a vertical TOY CATAPULT DEVICE with a horizontal support for rectangular projectiles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,203,990 to R. J. Haynur (1940) proposes a multiplayer GAME APPARATUS using a molded spring launcher and a projectile with parallel faces indicating a play board position for the next player. U.S. Pat. No. 1,612,699 to C. de V. Cole (1926) for a BASKET-BALL GAME has multiple player pieces, moving to random positions on the play board determined by a roll of dice, replaced for attempts at scoring by a catapult resembling an artillery piece. U.S. Pat. No. 731,850 to R. S. Bradbury (1903) discloses a GAME whereby a blade-spring launcher shoots a ball toward multiple baskets.
LEGO Sports sells HUMAN-LIKE TOY FIGURES based on U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,769 to Skov et al. (2005) with a coil spring connecting torso to its legs part, allowing the figure to ‘chest-slam’ a ball. U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,169 to Saunders (2001) discloses an ARTICULATED TOY FIGURE SIMULATING BASKET-BALL PLAY using a spring-loaded mechanism with a trigger and latch to swing an arm forward and downward, flinging a ball toward a basket. U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,758 to F. D. Carson uses a human figure shaped BALL CATAPULTING DEVICE with arms propelled by an elastic strip pulled crank to throw balls either upward from around its knees, or overhead backwards. U.S. Pat. No. 1,433,335 to K. Bensch (1922) discloses a BASKET-BALL TOY using figures with spring-loaded arms holding a cup, pulled by strings to shoot a ball. Probably the most realistically acting prior art figure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,330 to Ozawa (1997.) It shows a TOY BASKETBALL GAME WITH SELF-JUMPING PLAYER ejected from a stationary base and releasing the ball on contact with the basket rim, simulating a so-called ‘slam dunk.’ None of the known figures simulates a player executing a jump shot or a hook shot, perhaps the most common shooting actions in basketball, handball and other games using an aerial projectile.